


Shine

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Home [4]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: And they apparently both have lousy self-esteem, Bones is secretly a poetic bastard, Feels, M/M, so many feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-18 17:57:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3578652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim was the kind of beauty that took your breath away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shine

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what in the hell this is. And has anyone else noticed I can apparently only write Star Trek when beds are somehow involved?

****If he had any sense, Len would be sleeping.

Hell, even if he didn't have any sense. After all, Jim was managing it, sprawled out across Len's bed like he owned the damn thing. He was perfectly capable of shoving him over and claiming enough room to actually get some sleep, or just spreading out on top of him and smashing the kid into the mattress.

But here he was, wide awake, watching the steady rise and fall of Jim's shoulders like they held the secrets of the universe.  He'd studied the anatomy of dozens of different species, could take them apart and put them back together in the worst possible conditions, and he'd thought the body held no more mystery for him.

But when he looked at the slope of the muscles in Jim's back, when he heard him laugh or saw the light in his eyes that meant trouble was coming, he didn't think of med school. He thought of the best blues song he'd ever heard, in a smoky little bar with a glass of whiskey in front of him that tasted like the tears of angels. He thought of the way the moon looked in the sky the first time he'd snuck out of the house as a kid, shining with all the promise of the universe. He thought of the first time he'd seen the Enterprise, glowing white and regal against the black hell that was space.

It was the kind of beauty that took your breath away. The kind that almost hurt to look at, because you knew that you'd never seen something that remarkable, ever again.

"You're brooding again, aren't you?"

Leonard's lips quirked up at the sound of Jim's sleepy mumble. "Wouldn't quite call it brooding, darlin'."

"You stare off into the darkness thinking thoughts that are way too serious for this time in the shift." Jim quirked an eye open to look up at him. "What else would you call it?"

"Contemplating the mysteries of the universe." He traced his fingers lightly over the lines of Jim's back, more honesty slipping out than he'd ever consider letting go of when the lights were on. "Trying to figure out what in the hell someone so damn beautiful is doing in bed next to me."

Jim's brow furrowed, suddenly looking far more awake as he shifted sideways and pushed himself up on his elbows. "Do not try and tell me you don't know how attractive you are. I've seen you pull that southern charm on me too many times for that not to be true."

"I don't mean that. You're pretty, but not enough to give me a complex." His lips quirked again at Jim's amused snort, but when he spoke again his voice was soft. "It's the way you shine."

For a second, Jim looked like he was about to scoff. Then something he caught on Len's face made his own expression melt into uncertainty. "Come on, Bones. You can't really mean that." He reached over, sliding his hand along Leonard's jaw. "You're the only one who really sees how much of a faker I am. It's all just a show."

It was painful, how wrong he was. There had to be words out there that would have explained, that would have finally made Jim understand how truly special he was, but Leonard would probably never be the one able to say them. Any poetry in his head never quite managed to make it out of his mouth, lost in the tangle of everything else he was until it sounded more like shouting.

Instead, he leaned in for a kiss, trying to make it say everything he couldn't. Jim responded just as enthusiastically, hand curving around the back of Len's neck like he was holding something precious, and something cracked inside Len that he'd thought was solid as a rock.

When they broke apart, he leaned his forehead against Jim's. "I don't deserve you," he murmured, voice rough. "But I will be damned if I let you go."

Jim's grip tightened. "You won't get the chance to," he whispered back fiercely, leaning in for another kiss. "Because I'm not letting you go, either."

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my weekly posts and original short fiction on my [blog](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


End file.
